The journey back home was smooth--not like the daunting voyages in the war, when you were on high alert for enemy raiding parties at all times. The ability to walk the Plains and be hailed as
heroes instead of… Well, singled out and executed by death squads for intruding was a heady feeling. Like the Golden Devil Clan was
finally being recognized for the work they did--instead of scorned as foreign demons by the world at large.
Through the Colossus Footsteps Pass did the column march, harassed not and welcomed by the defenses--the legacies of glories long past and a reminder of what could be again if only the Clan could hold for a little while longer. The bells still did not ring, but perhaps in days to come, they might resound once more?
Past the great Bronzegate did the column march, and once again set eyes upon the Desert that had once been crucible--and been forged into home over generations of cultivators--a shining golden horizon where the Bronze Aegis suppressed all wickedness, cast aside all intrusion.
Down the Scorpion Road did the column march, a Triumph of rare proportions--victories being so few and so tortured since ancient times that the return of expeditionary forces where the majority sent out returned was a rare thing. Legionnaires and Centurions broke off, bit by bit, as their hometowns past by--well deserved leave being distributed in recognition for their great labors. There would be time soon enough to return to the front--but for now at least, they could enjoy the generous Contribution Point stipend and the right to never buy a drink again--at least for the next year or so anyway.
Cultivators could drink a
lot, Rina was finding, and while generosity had its place, liquor capable of letting a Golden Devil feel more than a slight buzz was way too expensive, and also not permitted on duty unless you had a really weird set of abilities to mitigate it.
Rina of course didn't get to go on leave just yet, there was an All Call sent out for all established Legates to report to the Dawn Fortress--and given the rumblings of war she had already heard, it wasn't the most auspicious of starts.
By the time the column arrived at the Fortress, it was little more than Rina, a handful of Centurions based there, and what remained of the baggage train. She had a chat with the nice boys in logistics to get that all delegated away, said her good-byes to her travelling companions, and borrowed a Bronzemaned Horse for the journey across the plain. Spirit Beasts one and all--companions to the
Optimatoi in the glory days--the mount of choice for the elite
Kataphraktoi Cavalry that served as the tip of the spear in ancient times. Now? They were on the brink of extinction, held at the First Grade by their handlers so as to not provoke Beast Tribulation they could not survive, for it is their very resonance with the Blood of Bronze that caused them to be included with many of the Curses that the
Optimatoi struggled with.
A shame, for they were beautiful beasts, bred and empowered with arts so far beyond the modern Clan that they even resonated with the Great Formations. But their numbers were too low, and the difficulty of aiding them through Tribulation too high, that only those who truly walked the Dao of the Cavalryman--and had great achievements to boot--could request a foal to train.
Everyone else only got to ride them in the boundaries of the Dawn Fortress--where they could be protected from predators hungry for their bloodline, where they could aid in training the juniors in mounted tactics.
The scorpions at least seemed to be gaining ground as a replacement--and Rina could see the appeal herself--while lacking in the swiftness and endurance of a purpose bred mount, their armored bodies could resist harm as well as their rider, their sheer size and natural weapons gave them deadly fighting strength in close combat, and most importantly of all--they grew quickly and bred faster still. It was a better substitute for the Clan's cavalry legacies than many,
That she was seeing far more of them in the stables than she did before was just as concerning as the other clues she had seen, and a sinking feeling was building in her heart.
After all, if she was in a rush, she'd simply run to the fortress--while flying was forbidden outside of the
Archgetes and any subordinate Nascent Soul, she was still far swifter than a Grade One spirit beast could ever be.
Yet it was calming, it was nice, to just pretend like she wasn't marching a path that led to either carrying the Clan's hopes on her back or dying ignominiously to one who would stop her. That her strength being too great to make swift progress in Foundation Establishment, but too weak to reliably seek out Core level resources.
The pulse of anxiety threatened to swell up again, her thoughts churning on one another. Was this going to be the day where everything fell apart? Where the dice were cast to finally land upon disaster?
For all of her ambitions and all of her talent, the simple fact of the matter is that
she needed time to reach her potential! To fully chart out the path of the Single-Pillar and understand the strength it could offer. Already, even the Clan's generous rewards for performance were struggling to produce enough resources to keep her Cultivation progressing forward. She was still no Core Formation expert, but paying for seven Mid Foundation Establishments on a single Cultivator's budget was proving to be daunting, and while she was keeping pace by using her natural advantages to perform tasks above her level…
The barrier to Core was still a wall of hardest orichalcum--she had tested her strength at Core level tasks in the Yuan Clan's array, and found herself
woefully under the task. Her magic was strong enough to outwit humans, and her Emanation could close the gap a little more--but the places where she could find the best resources cared about neither.
She couldn't afford to stagnate, she had eighty years until the next set of Trials--for the return of Aasmi Bhardaj, bearer of the Purifying Heavenly Star--she would not give Rina the opportunity to close again, it would have to be forced with equal might.
That meant the strength of a Core.
That meant the Great Circle of Single-Pillar Foundation Establishment.
If she couldn't suppress the Heavenly Star, she would die for certain, and the survival of the other Experts of the Clan would be up to the mercy of a young mistress who likely hasn't been scared of a peer in her life.
Not something to count on.
The Dawn Fortress loomed, ever greater, and the only sounds reaching Rina's ears were the distant shouts of training Aspirants, the hooves of her steed against the grass below--and the sound of the rising wind.
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Entry to the Dawn Fortress itself was restricted to Centurions and Legates. Aspirants and Legionnaires could access some of the outbuildings and minor facilities, such as the Ancestral Shrine and the Prime Contribution Board--but the great keep was a place only the proven could tread. The weight of a legacy older than a world settled upon Rina's shoulders as she tread into the Great Hall--the great Orichalcum effigy of the Earl of Bronze standing proud in the back of the chamber.
It is said that this effigy holds up the Luck of the
Optimatoi, that this effigy was carried into the Third Sea at the start of the campaign, defended when all other treasures and decorations were at risk. Shielded against the fury of the Heavens and the continual retreat.
Now it stands in the Dawn Fortress, gazing down upon the children of the Sea Conquering Army. Some said it was with fatherly affection, some said it was with disdain at how far his most loyal followers had fallen.
Rina wasn't sure what to think about the matter. When she was younger, she'd have probably leaned towards the first angle, confident in the strength of the ancestors and that it could be reclaimed.
Now?
Who knows. Even the original mission of the
Optimatoi has been long lost. Is survival at the cost of discarding the original mission to be lauded or scorned? Was the original mission even discarded at all? Why did the Sea Conquering Army march on this realm in the first place?
Too many questions, no answers to be had.
But he was still the liege lord of the
Optimatoi.
So Rina gave a salute, fist banging against her cuirass as she approached. Silver beyond Silver, Gold beyond Gold--wrought by the hands of true Gods it was.
She was in no way worthy. She may never
be worthy.
But she'll do her best, and not give up until her life burns out. What else was there to do? To carve a place in this world for her kin?
Past the Great Hall lay the Labyrinthine Paths. Twisted, winding corridors through the greater structure of the Dawn Fortress. Every grand tapestry hid potential sally points, every turn was a trap. Behind every door was the potential to hide a Battle Puppet, a Demonic Beast, or an explosive.
Only Legates were taught the true layout of the Labyrinthine Paths. Even then, there were likely further secrets only held by the
Archgetes and his immediate council.
After all, it was
unlikely that the
Optimatoi would find themselves backed into a corner this deeply while still having a hope for victory. Better still to have the defenses of your final holdfast exist to devour infiltrators, and ensure any attackers are scattered and consumed by your home ground advantage.
As a Legate, Rina naturally knew the safe passageways, and the location of the actual facilities of the Dawn Fortress. Today she was invited to speak with the new
Protostrator, to be advised as to her further role in the days going forward.
She would--ideally--get some answers there.
The corridors melted away behind Rina's pace, her steps carrying her past decoys, traps, and false-walls on a course towards the Battle Hall, the domain of the Elder of War.
It was not an audience chamber--the Mustering Ground was space enough for any discussion that needed more than five people in a room. It was, instead, a modest sized chamber, centered around a glowing projection of the Virtuous Flipper Region as understood by the Golden Devil Clan.
Before it stood Sheng Yu, newly appointed
Protostrator of the
Imperial Optimatoi, his posture at ease as his eyes flick from report to projection, small beads moving across the map in line with his attention.
Rina noted with a heavy heart that most of them involved heavy commitment on the Eastern Border.
"Legate Callista" He deigned to notice her after a moment--Rina gave a salute a moment later "Good that you returned, we will be needing your strength in the days ahead."
"So, it's war then?" Rina asked, looking at the map.
Protostrator Yu inclined his head. "Yes, Lady Jingshen Jiao's assassination attempt was foiled, but it is proof that the Jingshen Clan is preparing to enter the endgame of their own plans." He gestured sharply with one hand, as the map display zoomed in on Jingshen lands. "Our spies got… Lucky." There was a moment of hesitation there, did something weird happen? "And acquired troubling data."
"Jingshen is ready to deploy a third Nascent Soul?" Rina asked.
"Jingshen has been able to deploy a third Nascent Soul for years now." the
Protostrator shook his head. "No, Jingshen is nearly ready to deploy
two additional Nascent Souls."
"Bringing them up to four total…" Rina frowned. "We… Can't resist that. Why haven't they done it then?"
"Jingshen Junjie appears to be confident that we won't strike first, and is content to wait until a perfect candidate emerges from his direct descendents." Yu clarified. "Regardless, we have identified a number of potential candidates approaching that level--and some among his guest and outer family members who could be promoted immediately if he felt desperate enough."
"So. We're going to try and preempt that?" Rina asked. "Force him to raise his Nascent Souls while we still have Lady Yao's support, and then withdraw and wait for them to starve on the vine?"
"No" Yu shook his head. "We're going to remove their strike capacity entirely, the
Imperial Optimatoi will mobilize and grind them into glass."
Rina's blood ran cold. "The Righteous Path isn't going to like that. We've done a lot of outreach with them, yes--but this would set us back centuries and put a new coalition back on the table, now that the Demonic Altar Sect's power is broken for a generation."
Yu hesitates for a moment. "The Righteous Path has greater concerns at the moment." He closes his eyes, and sighs. "As of three months ago, Sun Diaxiang has slaughtered the Elder of Day, broken the Seven Divine Saber Palace, and risen to Late Nascent Soul in the aftermath."
Rina swore several oaths that were most assuredly not fit for print.
"Worse luck, we only found out about this after we had committed seven of our best Legions to backstop the defense lines of the Verdant South."
Protostrator Yu announced. "While we would prefer otherwise, chances are good that it's become a suicide mission. Even if a trap, no doubt the Righteous Path will wait until our Legions have been slaughtered before springing it."
"Unless we can conceal that this is happening in the first place?" Rina asked--though her tone made it clear she wasn't expecting much.
"Unlikely, the odds that Jingshen hasn't prepared agents meant to raise the alarm if contact is lost is… Slim--given how the entirety of his defense posture is to buy time for reinforcements." Yu shut down that little hope with the cool professionalism expected of one in the Clan's highest military office.
"I see…" Rina sighed, and rubbed her temples. "Well, it's war then, and one that we need to win quickly despite facing a foe with only Nascent Parity, formidable defenses, and the ability to just raise two more Nascent Souls on a whim."
"On that note." The
Protostrator allowed a trace of a smile. "Not everything has gone against us. Lady Kleisthenes has risen into Nascent Soul in the past decade."
"Really?" Rina perked up. "That's wonderful! The
Archgetes must have been under terrible pressure holding up the Heavens for us. Having some help can only be good for us… That puts us temporarily at Superiority--if that's leveraged well…"
"There are further considerations, but those are currently classified." Yu clarified. "For now, know that you and your comrades will play a key role in our final strategy. The suppression your Dao Emanation imposes on foes will be critical in maintaining a rapid operational tempo. I'm shaking loose what other Legates can be spared for the spearhead, but I will not mince words--you will be outnumbered and facing foes who have put every coin of military budget towards fortifications and artillery. But we must succeed--the Righteous Path is not equipped to deal with Sun Diaxiang now that he has reached Late Nascent Soul--it will fall to us."
"And the last thing we need is Jingshen taking the Scorpion Road while we're busy fighting Old Cannibal." Rina finishes the thought.
"Just so." The
Protostrator nodded, and gestured--three symbols on the map lighting up. "Now, we must discuss where you will bring your own contribution…"
War it would be then, at least this time, Rina will have some influence on its outcome...
